|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
| The Disgruntled Diner - Tel Aviv |
| Follow the culinary adventures of the Disgruntled Diner searching for a good restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel. Laugh and cry at the humorous social observations of the people who make up this unique city. The blog is updated once a week with new funny and culinary experiences. |
| Language: English |
| RSS Feeds for this Blog |
|
Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 76 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 162874 |
| Visitors Out: 959 |
| Total Visitors Out: 1607 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| Tel Aviv Tent City – A Tale of Two Steaks |
| 2011-07-24 07:13:00 |
Tents are springing up all along Rothschild Boulevard, in the centre on Tel Aviv. It is not as result of the relentless heat but rather as an act of protest. It seems Israel has entered an era of civil protest, whether against cottage cheese, fuel or housing prices the theme is the same and that is high prices. In an earlier post I commented that I was disappointed that civil protest was limp here, but I must start eating my hat as people are starting to wake-up to rip-off Israel.For those who haven’t read the earlier posts – Israel is an excessively expensive country, particularly when compared to the low average salary. The gap in salary vs prices has mushroomed over the past few years and has now reached a level where many middle class Israeli families cannot make ends meet. There...
|
| |
|
| Learning About Israel through Reality TV – Tasty Salads at Haj Kahil |
| 2011-07-10 05:45:00 |
Haj Kahil – Raziel 18, Jaffa Israel loves reality TV! There are so many programs and variations blasting nightly from the television set; Survivor, Pop Idol, Big Brother, Masterchef, Trinny and Susannah etc. It amazes me how many shows there are in such a small country, it feels like you are bombarded 24/7. One of the funniest results of reality is the explosion of the minor celebrity population. Israel is also in love with celebrity and most contestants fulfil their celebrity dream (even if only for a short time), while newspapers and paparazzi follow every move of their ‘exciting’ lives.I am not a fan of this genre, but saying that there is merit in watching some of the programmes. I even recommend people who are interested in learning more about Israel and Israeli society to...
|
| |
|
| In Praise of Hebrew Book Week – A Decent Israeli Burger at Wolfnights |
| 2011-07-03 05:27:00 |
Wolfnights – Rabin Square One of my favourite yearly events in Tel Aviv (and throughout Israel) is Hebrew Book Week (actually 10 days long). For those unfamiliar with the event it is when all the publishers’ set-up book stands in almost every large town during the evening hours. The Fair is to promote local Hebrew books whether it is fiction, non-fiction or children. This particular event has been taking place since 1961 but has in different guises occurred in Tel Aviv from 1926. I recall as a child visiting with my parents, and the joy of being able to pick ‘my’ book. As such it is still a special and non-cynical event in my nostalgic eyes, particularly for families and kids and reminds us of more quiet and less hectic past.Israel is a very literary society with many publishers an...
|
| |
|
| Fighting over Cottage Cheese Prices – Average Dining at the ‘Brothers’ |
| 2011-06-19 04:11:00 |
The Brothers (Ha-Achim) – Ibn Gvirol 12 Cottage cheese has been headlining the news in Israel. Whereas revolutions are taking place in neighbouring countries it is the price of cottage cheese which has become the main topic of discussion here. Following-on from my recent entry on the expense of Israel, people have suddenly woken-up to the fact that they are over-spending and being over charged. This ‘sudden’ discovery has unfortunately tapped into the superficial and non-beneficial friar (sucker) syndrome leading into vocal anger over cottage cheese prices. COTTAGE CHEESE IS NOT THE PROBLEM!It is no secret that Israelis pay far more on a basket of goods than in Europe / US, which coupled with a far lower average salary, corruption, non-importation (and high taxes), small country ment...
|
| |
|
| Duty Free Madness – True Gastronomy at The Ledbury |
| 2011-06-13 06:02:00 |
The Ledbury – Notting Hill, London Israelis love Duty Free!! What is generally considered an unnecessary overpriced distraction at the airport, here in Israel can be even more important than the trip itself. Yes there have been times I have bought a box of chocolate for co-workers but here people buy in bulk to be picked up on the way home and not as a gift to the their destination.I suspect in a country which used to be very expensive with little competition there was a place for shopping at the airport, but it has gone far beyond this. There are even commercials on the TV reminding people to buy at the Duty Free stores at the airport. Duty Free is also unique in Israel as one can purchase all their products when leaving the country and leave them to be picked up on the return. T...
|
| |
|
| The Cost of Israel – Another Burger Adventure at Meat Bar |
| 2011-06-05 03:38:00 |
Meat Bar (Hamburger) – Sderot Chen 52One thing I hear a lot from visitors and expats is how expensive this country is, especially when compared to Europe and the US. I have to admit that even I cannot ignore the big difference in price on almost everything when comparing. But is this really the case? Unfortunately it is!I do not know what people, who are neither Jewish, nor connected to the country think of Israel’s financial situation, but I managed to catch one episode of a program called ‘The Promise’ broadcast in the UK. In that mini-series they showed an English girl visiting her friend in Israel. They flew business class and resided at her friend’s parents’ house in Caesarea (over-looking the sea), before going all political (as they usually do). I was wondering if p...
|
| |
|
| Looking South towards Florentin – A Taste of Mexico in Tel Aviv |
| 2011-05-29 04:33:00 |
Mezcal Bar – Vital 2 Tel Aviv is rather a small and compact city, especially when compared to other world greats, but even in such a small city there are distinct neighbourhoods. One of the ones I like to visit for an occasional evening drink is Florentin. This up and coming area (as it has been for the past 20 years!) is filled with young Israeli’s and has a 1990’s NY East Village vibe (minus the crime). Florentin is situated in southern Tel Aviv on the border with Jaffa and is considered one of the poorer parts of the city. As a result real estate has been taken over by young Israeli’s and up and coming artists with the area also housing several fashion warehouses and galleries. Florentin has many bars and small restaurants which are full almost every night of the week...
|
| |
|
| Independence Day – The Disgruntled Diner Tastes Israeli Red Wine |
| 2011-05-15 06:16:00 |
It’s Independence Day in Israel with the young country firmly marching towards middle-age. Regardless of your political inclination, sixty three years is an impressive achievement for a country mostly disliked in its volatile neighbourhood. Though sometimes I do wonder how it succeeds with all the corruption and wacky bureaucracy that invades our daily life.Living in the UK for many years I am not familiar with Independence Day celebrations – the most the UK can offer is an insipid St George’s Day which is just another excuse to go to the pubs and get drunk. If anything there are more similarities between Israel and the US in the strong nationalistic feelings that sweep the country along with the incessant flag waving.However, I believe that Israel is unique in celebrating Remembranc...
|
| |
|
| Does the Tzimmer come with a Jacuzzi? – Country Style Brunch at Rama’s Kitchen |
| 2011-05-08 03:57:00 |
Rama’s Kitchen – Nataf Village (near Abu Gosh)I wanted to share a local touristic phenomenon called Tzimmers. As described in earlier entries, Israel has some wonderful areas of natural beauty and many Israeli’s spend the weekend / holidays enjoying them. In conjunction with this many locals living in the countryside (particularly in the North) have created the ‘Tzimmer Hotel’ phenomenon. Tzimmer is a Yiddish word meaning room and that is more or less what they are. There must be hundreds or even thousands of them in Israel and they can be anything from a chalet style dwelling to a shack in someone’s backyard. In some ways they can be equated to a bed and breakfast (usually without the breakfast or located in the owners home). Most tzimmers have things in common and that ...
|
| |
|
| Sea and Sun (The Beaches of Tel Aviv) – Eating Well at Sebastian in Herzliya |
| 2011-05-01 07:10:00 |
Sebastian – Maskit 33, HerzliyaSummer is rapidly approaching with temperatures nudging higher and the sun shining ever harder. Unfortunately, Tel Aviv in summer, is an unpleasant experience. The mixture of high temperatures and humidity makes it a sticky mess, especially at night when one is let down from the hopes of cool evenings.Luckily Tel Aviv is on the coast and as an avid beach goer I thought I would share some of my tips of the better beaches along the city coastline.Tel Aviv has a long coastline from Tel Baruch in the North to the Western Beach, next to Jaffa, in the South. In the past few years investment has been made in renovating the boardwalk which now extends from almost Bat Yam to Tel Baruch. The whole beach promenade is pretty (bar the dolphinarium which will be demolish...
|
| |
|
| |
 |
